Even then
by onceuponadream32
Summary: Short story based on spoilers for 4x02 where Emma is trapped in an ice cave, and Killian and David race against time to save her. Will post the fourth and final chapter if I get a good response, so please leave a review! :)
1. Chapter 1

Killian bursts out of Gold's shop, tears of frustration beginning to well in his eyes. _Most powerful wizard in all the realms? Bloody bullshit that is. _Killian thinks as he tries to push back the few tears that have begun to blur his vision. He and David had practically begged the Dark One for his assistance, both of them fueled by fear of losing someone they love so dearly. But even the most powerful magic has its limits; or so the Crocodile had said. Killian paced back and forth, racking his brain for _anything _that could help save his Swan. Coming up with nothing, Killian let his hopeless surface. He let out a choked sob, and hit David's truck so hard he felt blood start to trickle down his hand. But he didn't care. For no pain, physical nor mental, could even begin to compare to the despair that he was presently feeling.

"Kkk-illi-aan?"

A barely audible voice questioned. Killian snapped out of his self-pitying haze instantly, reaching for the device through which a significantly different sounding Emma was speaking to him. He pressed the button on the side as David had instructed, and tried to collect himself before he spoke.

"I'm here, love. How are you?"

_How do you think she's doing you bloody git?! _Despite his choice of words, he heard Emma laugh weakly.

"I'vve- been- better."

Killian couldn't help but smile at that.

"We're on our way, Swan. Please, just try to hold on."

"I.. don't-dontt know-."

"_Don't you dare. _Do _not _start talking like that."

He said as David started the truck. Killian felt David's eyes on him, but paid him no mind.

"Kiiliann, listen to me-e, youu.. you have to ta-llk to Henry."

"Swan-."

"_No. You _are goin-gg to liste-nn to _me_."

Killian stayed silent, afraid saying something would cause the tears behind his eye lids to fall.

"You.. you hav-ee to mak-ee sure he know-s I lov-e him. Tell hi-im that.."

"You'll tell him yourself, darling."

"..and my-y paren-ts.. they.. they ha-ve to kno-w too.."

Killian's eyes shot open, noticing Emma's voice was getting weaker and weaker.

"Swan, _please wait for me._"

"and.. an-d you.. I'm… s-o.. sor-ry we nev-er got to.. enjo-y the qui-et moments.."

Killian felt a tear slip down his cheek, and quickly wiped it away, refusing to be weak in a time when Emma needed him to be strong. He took a deep breath, and tried to forget the fact that David was sitting right next to him.

"You've nothing to apologize for, love. Every moment I spent in your company, I enjoyed."

"E-ven ch-asin-g sno-w monst-ers?"

"Even then."

He could practically hear her tiny smile.

"Good."

And then, there was silence.


	2. Chapter 2

_Cold_. A blistering yet numbing cold was all Emma could feel. She had lost all feeling in her arms and legs, and it was beginning to take a substantial amount of effort to breathe. Darkness was making it's way into her vision and the temptation to give in to the sweet promise of relief was growing with every passing second. _No. _She thought. _I'm not done. _She hardly even got a chance to speak to Killian before the cold became too much for her and the walkie talkie that his clearly distressed voice, (_the open book thing works both ways, she's come to learn._), came through. _Sweet bastard, with his reassuring words. _She did the best she could to tell him what needed to be said; try to get him to see the reality of this screwed up situation. But as usual, he didn't.. wouldn't give up on her. Told her to _hold on _and to _wait _for him. And so, she refused to give up, and tried to conjure every ounce of strength and magic (_what is her life?_) within her to fight. But as it would seem, even the savior, the product of the truest love and holder of the most powerful magic has her limits. Breathing once again became a task that she wasn't sure she was up for.

"Emma.. Emma, was it? Listen to me, you must stay awake. Do not let the cold consume you."

She heard Elsa command as a gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder. Emma opened her eyes slightly, and saw a look that she knew all too well on the young woman's face. _Guilt. Fear. Dread. All of it. _A look that was brought on by magic that she had no control or comprehension over. A look of fear of one's own abilities. She did her best to smile, despite the loss of feeling in her face as well as most of her body. Elsa returned Emma's smile, and sighed heavily. She saw Elsa look at the walkie talkie, then back to her.

"The man on that.. thing.. he sounded worry about you. I don't mean to pry, but it sounds as if he _cares _for you. And by the way you talked to him, I'm going to guess the affections are mutual."

Elsa said as she rubbed Emma's arm gently, trying (yet failing) to warm her the slightest bit. Emma didn't know why, but she _wanted _to explain her relationship to this woman. A woman she barely knew, (aside from the indirect attempt on her life), yet felt such a strong connection to. She _wanted _to talk about her relationship with Killian, her life, everything with her. No words came, however, so Emma just weakly smiled again.

"Wait for him, Emma."

_Oh believe me, I will._

"There! That's where the signal from Emma's phone is coming from!"

David yelled as he and Killian practically jumped from the still moving truck. Ever since Emma's voice had faded from the "radio", as Dave called it, a feeling of despair made it's way into Killian's chest. He called for her repeatedly, but no response came. It took everything within him to keep from breaking down right then and there. _"Good". Of all the bloody words in her vernacular, she chooses that one. _A word that was already associated with one of the worst moments of his life. Losing her once sent him back into the darkness of his past, losing her twice would end him, he was sure of it. Which is why he refused to give up. He w_ould _find her. Just as he always had. Killian grabbed the pick axe out of the back of David's truck, and ran in the direction Emma's father had gone. The moment he stepped inside the icy fortress, his blood ran cold. He could feel the stinging in his hands, and could see his breath in front of him. He met David's eyes instantly, both of them recognizing the faint look of doubt in the other's eyes.

"She'll be_ fine_. She _has_ to be."

David told him firmly as he walked past Killian, looking down to the phone in his hand for direction. _She better be _Killian silently prayed as he followed David. They turned corner after corner, and traveled down corridor after corridor. Finally, they came to a dead end.

"Well?!"

Killian questioned impatiently.

"It says she's here! I don't know what happened!"

David said with glossy eyes.

Killian groaned, letting his rage boil to the surface. He swung his hook as forcefully as he could and hitting the large wall of ice in front of him. His eyes fell closed, the tears he had been holding back since the beginning of this ordeal starting to fall down his cheeks. He slumped against the wall, slamming his forehead on it, the pain a most welcomed feeling.

"Is someone there?"

_Emma. _Killian's head shot up.

"Emma?!"

Both men yelled in unison.

"No, this is Elsa.. Please you must hurry. Emma's alive, but she fell unconscious!"

_She's still alive. Thank the gods. _

Killian stood immediately, grabbing the pick axe and swinging it with a new force of determination.

After what seemed like ages, the ice finally began to break. And with help from the very woman who had trapped Emma, the ice was completely gone moments later. Killian's eyes searched the cave frantically, finally landing on Emma. Before he even knew it, he was sprinting to her with David not far behind. He practically dived to her side, gathering her frigid body in his arms. He pulled her into his chest, pressing kisses into her hair as he began to lift her off the snow dusted floor.

"Emma, _love,_ wake up. I'm here."

Killian pleaded as he shot a glare at Elsa. He looked back to her face, and the sight he saw knocked the breath out of him. He had been so relieved to see her before, that he didn't really _see her._ She was ghostly pale, and her lips as well as her eyelids were purple._ No. _He shook her gently, growing more and more restless as she continued to not respond.

"Swan _please! _Wake up!"

More tears fell as she remained still. He saw David kneel down in front of him, a look of complete and utter terror on his face. David reached for his daughter's wrist, flinching when he felt just how freezing she was.

"She still has a pulse, but just barely. We need to get her to the hospital _now._"

Killian nodded wordlessly, taking off his coat and draping it over her before picking her up and carrying her out of the cave. He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, whispering a statement that was only loud enough for the woman in his arms to hear.

_I love you, Swan. Please, don't leave me. _

A/N: ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER?! I'm sorry you guys.. really, I am. But I just love writing them so much! Rest assured, this is **not **the final part of this story. There will be at least one more chapter, and I will post that tomorrow. I really hope you guys enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

_Everything hurts. _There's an ache that reaches all the way to her bones, and a soreness throughout her entire body. She faintly hears the beeping of the heart monitor and feels the IV in her hand. _They took me to the hospital. Jesus. I'm going to- Killian. _Emma's eyes fly open, causing the muscles in her face to send a sharp pain of protest directly to her skull. She closes her eyes and groans as she rubs at her temple. _Son of a bitch. _

"_Swan?_"

He sounds so.. _fragile. _And Emma is almost scared to open her eyes again because of that. She doesn't want to give him false hope, knowing from personal experience that it's even worse than the bitter truth. But she feels alright, and oh how she _longs_ to look him in the eyes. To see the powerful emotion that's always there, the _love, _no matter how hard she may try to push him away. They both need this; to know that the other is okay. So she opens her eyes a fraction, and instantly meets his. She sees him let out a breath and bow his head, the tension flowing out of his shoulders because she's _alive _and _breathing, _which is more than can be said for other bad days she's had. She sees the relief on his handsome features as he looks back up to her, and can't help but give him a small smile.

"Hi."

He grins back at her, rising from his place in the chair next to her bed and moving to sit at the end of the bed, far enough away to give her space yet close enough so she can feel the warmth radiating off his body. She holds out her hand before realizing exactly what she's doing, and feels a spark of panic ignite within her as his fingers graze over the top of her hand. Her body has other plans, however, and entwines their fingers and squeezes his hand as strongly as she could with her strength being nearly nonexistent at the moment. Her gaze moves from his face to their hands, and she notices in that moment that their hands fit together _perfectly. _He must notice it too, since she hears him chuckle before bringing their entwined hands upwards, tenderly caressing her hand before pressing her hand to his lips so gently it practically melts her heart. His smile fades quickly, the look of worry now swirling within the blueness of his eyes once again and his brow furrowing slightly. She can't help but frown at the change in the air between them. There's so much she wants to say, and she can see that Killian feels the exact same way. But neither of them are exactly experts at this.. being completely open and vulnerable with someone. To Emma, actions have always spoken louder than words, anyways. She brings her hand up to the side of his face, smiling at the sudden warmth she finds there. He leans into her touch with a sigh of contempt, turning to pepper kisses into her palm and down her wrist. He continues to kiss farther and farther up her arm, and despite nearly being frozen to death just a few hours ago, _she is_ _incredibly hot right now and dear god someone open a window. _He's moving closer and closer every moment, and the anticipation of his lips touching hers is _killing her, (too soon?). _His eyes flutter open, meeting hers and making her stomach do cartwheels. He starts to lean closer, and despite the pains of protest all throughout her back, she leaned forward as well, refusing to wait any longer to kiss him. His hand was on her shoulder then, pushing her away and leaving her with a million questions.

"You were almost gone.."

"But I'm here now."

She reminded.

"What happened to enjoying the quiet moments?"

He gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and started to rub soothing circles on the top of her hand.

"And I meant every word, love. But if _this_ is your idea of a 'quiet moment', then I'm afraid our definitions of the terms differ greatly."

She studied his face, realization dawning over her after at the true meaning of his words.

"You're scared.."

She whispered. It was more of a statement than a question; they both knew that.

"So it would seem the 'open book' thing works both ways.."

_I hurt him. _It was like the air had been stolen from her lungs. She hurt him.. She drove him away.. just as she always did.

"Just say it, Killian."

She said as tears began to blur the corners of her vision. He looked up to her face in confusion, his eyes widening when he saw the firm set of her jaw and the redness in her cheeks.

"Say what, Love?"

She huffed a humorless laugh and met his gaze, biting her tongue to the point of tasting blood to keep from crying.

"Tell me you're done with me. That I'm not enough. That I'm just a waste of your time. That this.. us.. was a stupid childish pointle-."

_He was kissing her. __**Really **__kissing her. _With a passion so strong she thought she would combust. His hand was in her hair, anchoring her to him. His other hand was wrapped around her waist, making the soft lines of her body melt into the hard lines of his, making it difficult to tell where her body ended and where his started. He pulled away suddenly, resting his forehead on hers and running his fingers across her cheek gently.

"I would _never_, not in a _million bloody lifetimes, _tell you anything of the sort. Emma I.. I love you."

He confessed nervously. Emma's breath caught in her throat, instinctively searching his eyes for the slightest sign of a lie, but she found nothing. _Just what she expected. _She moved her hand to the nape of this neck, stroking the soft hair there as she slowly pulled him towards her. Emma _knew_ what she felt. She knew that it was so _strong, and pure, and everything and anything you could ever want from a romance. _But she just couldn't say the words.. _not yet_ anyways. So instead, she gave him the most loving smile she could, and got within centimeters of his face before looking directly into his eyes and saying

"I know."


End file.
